Autumn Rain
by Marissa-Xtreme SelDem Fan
Summary: Another one of my Lucas and Haley one shots. Not good with summaries. Please read.


Hey guys! I'm back with another little one parter! I kind of had a bad day and once I had a good cry, I needed a good pick-me-up so I thought of this scene. I can laugh about my bad day now, but things just kind of got to me. I don't think this is really all that good because I was sort of in a bad place when I wrote it plus it was really late at night so I was tired. I hope you guys like it and please read and review! I love feedback!

Disclaimer: I don't own OTH, the show and characters are property of the WB.

**Autumn Rain**

A light rain fell from the sky as Haley sat on her back porch, crying silently. She was curled up in a blanket on a bench sitting sideways with her legs pulled tight to her chest as she looked out over the porch railing to the outside world. It was almost winter; the leaves on the trees had long since turned to a myriad of colors and now lay strewn across the expanse of the yard. She would have to rake them into piles soon. She wiped her nose with a tissue and sniffled a little, her thoughts returning to the cause of her heartbreak and sorrow.

Lucas had been dating Peyton for a few weeks now and every time she saw them together, she felt a stab to her chest. The last few days Haley had been so busy that she never found the time to just break down and cry like she usually did to ease her pain after seeing them together. She knew when her feelings for Lucas had changed from friendly to ones of love, but they just didn't change overnight. Yes, Haley James was in love with her best friend, Lucas Scott. They had prided themselves about not being like the ever-favorite couple of most teens, Dawson and Joey, from Dawson' s Creek. However, somewhere along the line things had changed, at least for her.

Haley could clearly remember the day she fell in love with Lucas Scott. They had been twelve years old at the time and one day she woke up and discovered that her hamster, Rocky, had died. The little furry animal had died of old age; she'd owned him for almost six years. She called Lucas up and he immediately rushed over to her house to console his best friend. When he wrapped her in a warm, strong embrace, she remembered feeling safe and loved, more than she ever had with anyone else besides Karen, not even her own parents. He'd held her tightly to his body while she cried her eyes out and almost thoroughly soaked his shirt. Once she'd calmed down a little bit, he had helped her put Rocky in a special decorated box with all of the hamster's favorite things and then buried him in her backyard. They'd said a few words then began to shovel the dirt into the hole that had been created as a gravesite for the tiny animal.

_How weird is it that you realize you love someone the day you lose another? _Then she came to a conclusion that it wasn't so odd for that to happen. She had loved Lucas on some level for all her life, but it was only in recent years that her true feelings that had been buried deep within her had finally broke through their entrapment. Her thoughts drifted back to Peyton and Lucas again; it hurt so much to think about him now. With Peyton as his new love interest, Lucas had been spending less time with Haley and more with the blonde curly haired cheerleader. All the times she had seen them together the past few days, kissing, holding hands, laughing with bright smiles on their faces, had built up inside her from not letting her emotions out and were now set free to match the rain drops falling from the ominous gray clouds. The weather was exactly how she felt, only more intense. If she were the weather right now, she probably be a hurricane or tornado with thunder, lightning, and harsh rain flooding the town. She felt like she would never stop crying.

Haley was interrupted by her mother stepping onto the porch and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Haley sweetie, are you alright," Mrs. James asked concernedly at seeing her daughter's tears. "I'm fine mom," she responded, swiping at her cheeks, "I don't mean to be rude, but can you please go away? I just want to be left alone for awhile." Mrs. James stroked her daughter's hair once then before she entered the house, she stood by the doorway looking at her daughter staring out into the rain. "Sure honey," she replied, "but you should come in soon, it's getting a little cold out here." Haley nodded silently.

Haley tried to think about anything but Lucas but she then realized that the fall dance was coming up soon. Lucas had promised to take her, but he undoubtedly would be going with Peyton now. She decided that she wouldn't go; it would nearly kill her to see them dancing together, so happy and in love. More tears began to mar her delicate features as the rain started to come down harder.

She suddenly felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her waist and the bench shift in weight as someone sat behind her. Haley didn't have to look to know who it was; he was the only person that did this to her. She felt butterflies in her stomach as he rested his head against her back. "Hey Hales," Lucas greeted her; she turned to look at him and he noticed her tears and damp cheeks, "what's wrong?" He lifted a hand to brush away a few stray tears and she moved from his comforting touch. "Nothing, I'm fine. What are you doing here? I thought you had a date with Peyton," she asked, trying to mask the hurt in her voice. "That's bull Hales, and don't try to change the subject. Now tell me what's going on," he demanded gently.

"I-I can't," Haley replied as fresh tears began to flow once again. "Why not," he coaxed quietly. Haley choked on a sob, "Because-because it would hurt our friendship..." Lucas quickly withdrew his arms and stood up, alarm filling every part of his body. "Tell me," he commanded in a low growl. "I can't," she repeated in a broken voice. "Haley, you can't just tell me that and not explain! What could you possibly tell me that would hurt our friendship," he asked and then his face contorted into anger and surprise at a thought, "you- you're not dating Nathan are you?" His cold, steely eyes stared into her red, watery brown eyes, searching for an answer, hoping that, that wasn't what she didn't want to tell him.

"No," she replied, hugging her legs closer to her body. "Then tell me! Nothing can be as bad as you dating Nathan," Lucas shouted exasperatedly, flinging his arms out in the air in frustration. Getting fed up of his yelling and holding in her true feelings, she finally let it all out, "I love you, okay? I love you! Not the 'you are my best friend' kind of love but the 'I want to spend the rest of my life with you' kind. I knew it would hurt our friendship because you don't feel that way but I can't help it, I love you. But I can't be with you because you're dating Peyton and I shouldn't have said anything and-" She continued to ramble on, not noticing the small smile forming on his lips. She was silenced by Lucas' lips on hers; she felt a spark ignite in her body, spreading through her. He pulled away and she asked a little breathlessly, "Why'd you do that?" He responded as he brushed a few strands of hair from her face, "Because I love you too."

She smiled and began to run a hand over his hair but quickly pulled back, her mouth forming a frown, "Luke, what about Peyton?" He sighed, "I broke it off with her." "Why," she asked concernedly, "you two seemed so happy together." He stared off into the rain as he replied, "There were some good moments, but we fought a lot. Our happiness was just a mask we put on for everybody. I broke it off with her because I think we're better off as friends and because she wasn't..." "Wasn't what," she inquired curiously. "...She wasn't you," he responded, finally gazing into her eyes, "whenever I was with her, all I could think about was you. I love you Haley. I know you're scared and I am too. I don't want to lose our friendship and if ever things didn't work out between us... I don't want to lose you okay? You're a part of me and you are so important to me and you play such a big role in my life. I couldn't live if I didn't have that anymore..."

Haley took his hand and he sat behind her again; she turned slightly and brought her hand up to caress his cheek. "You could never lose me," she said softly. He slowly leaned in and their lips met briefly in a soft, tender kiss. Once they pulled back, he gave her a flash of his trademark Scott smirk, "So you want to spend the rest of your life with me, huh?" She nodded as she gave him a small, shy smile and Lucas responded, "Well good, because I want to spend the rest of my life with you too, making you happy," Lucas whispered in her ear.

"You don't know how happy you've made me, I love you," Haley told him as a few tears, now of a different emotion than before, fell down her cheeks. Haley pressed her lips to his and the kiss became more intense then her tongue pushed gently against his mouth, asking for entrance. Their tongues roamed over each other and hers stroked the roof of his mouth then she began to nibble and suck lightly at his bottom lip. Lucas moaned in response, leaning towards her with his eyes still closed as she pulled away. They were both breathing heavily with love and passion smoldering in their eyes.

Without breaking eye contact, Haley stood and lifted Lucas' legs onto the bench, spreading them to the sides. He stared at her with a surprised expression and she just smiled then positioned herself between his legs, leaning back to rest against his chest. He wrapped his strong arms around her waist and kissed her hair. She covered the both of them with the blanket and laid her head in the crook of his neck, relishing in the knowledge that her best friend was now her boyfriend. As the two lay there, they gazed into the outside world and watched the autumn rain fall.


End file.
